IMPORTANT POINT
Quarter – House Rent Allowance cannot be claimed after Allowance after demitting office post superannuation from service.

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal is directed against the judgment dated 27th September, 2021 passed by the learned Division Bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu in LPA No. 38 of 2020 whereby, the learned Division Bench rejected the Letters Patent Appeal preferred by the appellant and affirmed the order dated 19th December, 2019 passed by the learned Single Judge in SWP No. 3440 of 2014 rejecting the writ petition filed by the appellant.

3. Succinctly stated facts relevant and essential for disposal of the appeal are that the appellant herein was working as an Inspector (Telecom) in Jammu and Kashmir Police, 4th Battalion. He superannuated from services on 30th April, 2014. The appellant received a communication from the Director Police, Telecom regarding recovery of the outstanding rentals on account of unauthorized drawals of House Rent Allowance (hereinafter being referred to as ‘HRA’) by the appellant. The said action was taken under Rule 6(h) of The Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (House Rent Allowance and City Compensation Allowance) Rules, 1992(hereinafter being referred to as ‘Rules of 1992’) in pursuance of a complaint received by the authorities wherein, it was alleged that the appellant was availing Government accommodation and simultaneously drawing HRA. Notice was given to the appellant to deposit a sum of Rs.3,96,814/- determined to have been drawn by him as HRA without entitlement. By this very notice, the appellant was given a chance to produce documents in proof to indicate that the quarter in question, i.e., quarter No. 6-A was not under his occupation/possession. As the appellant failed to satisfy the authorities in this regard, the recovery notice was issued which was subjected to challenge in the writ Court and the Letters Patent Appeal albeit unsuccessfully.

4. Learned counsel Ms. Purnima Bhat, appearing on behalf of the appellant urged that indisputably, the quarter in question had been allotted in the name of appellant’s father who was a Retd. Deputy Superintendent of Police. The appellant occasionally shared the official accommodation allotted to his father. She urged that the High Court glossed over the relevant clauses of Rule 6(h) of Rules of 1992 while dismissing the writ petition as well as the appeal filed by the appellant, inasmuch as only, one part of the said rule was considered while ignoring the part which favourably covers the case of the appellant. The pertinent contention raised by the learned counsel was that had the High Court considered the provisions contained in Rule 6(h)(iv), the recovery notice could not have been sustained.

5. For the sake of ready reference, Rule 6(h) of Rules of 1992 is reproduced herein-below:

“6. The grant of House Rent Allowance shall be subject to the following conditions:

(a)-(g)............

(h) A Govt. employee shall not be entitled to House Rent Allowance if:

(i) he/she shares accommodation allotted rent free to another Govt. servant.

(ii) he/she resides in accommodation allotted to his/her parents, son, daughter by the Govt.

(iii) his wife/her husband has been allotted accommodation at the same station by the Govt. whether he/she resides in that accommodation or he/she resides separately in accommodation rented by him/her.

(iv) In cases where husband/wife/parents, children two or more of them being State Govt. servants or employees of Central Govt. Autonomous Public Undertakings or semi Govt. Organizations share accommodation allotted to another Government Servant, House Rent Allowance will be admissible to only one of them at their choice.

(v)............”

6. It was contended that admittedly quarter No. 6-A was allotted to the appellant’s father, Deputy Superintendent of Police, who retired from the post as a Gazetted Officer, and was a displaced Kashmiri pandit. Thus, the appellant cannot be charged HRA on account of occasional shared residence in the said quarter. She thus, implored the Court to set aside the impugned orders and the rec